In the opening game of the series, Rutgers starting pitcher Tyler Gebler was solid with three strikeouts in six innings, but gave up a pair of two-run innings to the Panthers.

An RBI single by Pitt center fielder Zach Duggan compounded with a Rutgers error pushed two runs across in the second inning. Then later in the sixth, another Duggan single found turf as Pittsburgh pushed two more runs across.

The Knights only had five hits in the game, with the majority coming from the bottom portion of their lineup. Gebler’s record fell to 2-4 on the season as Pitt starter Matt Iannazzo was awarded the win with a complete game shutout.

The second game of the day was not much better for the Knights as their bats remained dormant. Starter Rob Smorol struck out three and pitched a complete game, but once again the offense offered no run support.

Pittsburgh got on the board in the third inning with another RBI by Duggan, this time on a sacrifice groundout. The Panthers extended the lead to three runs with an RBI single in the seventh from right fielder Casey Roche and a double in the eighth from left fielder John Schultz.

The Panthers starter Corey Baker improved to 4-1 on the season after allowing just four hits in seven innings and striking out five. Smorol fell to 3-5 for the year despite the solid performance.

Senior right fielder Michael Lang and junior first baseman Russ Hopkins were the only Knights to register hits in both games of the doubleheader.

The Knights actually showed signs of life in the series finale, with much of it coming from Lang. He was a homerun shy of hitting for the cycle with a triple, double, and single. Lang was walked and hit by a pinch in his other two at-bats and reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances.

Pittsburgh struck first in the second inning as Roche hit a single with the bases loaded off of Rutgers starter Nathaniel Roe to bring home the first two runs of the contest.

The Panthers added three more runs in the third inning highlighted by a two run single from shortstop Derik Wilson. They followed up with runs in the fourth and fifth innings to pile on a 7-0 lead after five frames.

The Knights battled back in the sixth with a sacrifice fly from Hopkins to score Lang from third base and an RBI single from freshman Nick Favatella.

They also loaded the bases in the eighth and Pittsburgh reliever Alex Caravella walked pinch hitter Brandon Boykin before getting out of trouble with a strikeout and double play.

Pittsburgh would tack on one more run in the bottom of the eighth with back to back doubles from Schultz and catcher Kevan Smith. The Knights put up a fight in the top of the ninth, but was not enough to drive a run across and overcome the 8-3 deficit.

Rutgers has now lost four games in a row dating back to a home loss against Cincinnati on April 17. The Knights will look to halt the losing skid on Tuesday, April 26 when they travel to Newark, Del. to face the Blue Hens of Delaware before a weekend home series with Connecticut.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ - On Tuesday, June 12th, elected county committee members of the Middlesex County Republican Organization will have a choice on who will be their next County Chair and party executive board.

Sharon D. Hubberman, former Middlesex County Freeholder Candidate, and current Perth Amboy Republican Chair has announced she will accept her nomination for the ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - A development company affiliated with two apartment complexes near Neilson Street is now seeking approval for a 67-unit, six-story apartment building for a vacant lot on the street that would cover the entire lot and would exceed the four-story limit permitted in the zone.

The Community Builders, a Boston-based company doing building as Stirlingside Urban Renewal LLC, is ...

WARREN – Keeping Babies Safe (KBS), a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating young families about safe sleep for babies, today announced that Newton Baby is a “Charitable Sponsor” for 2018.

The proceeds from the sponsorship will be used to expand the non-profit’s mission for its “Be Smart About Safe Sleep™” campaign, which reaches ...

The Jaffe Briefing will not publish from Thursday through Monday. A great Memorial Day to all!

MANVILLE - If marijuana becomes legal in New Jersey, here's another town where you won't be able to buy it: Manville. The mayor and council unanimously voted to prohibit any sale of weed - recreational and medicinal - within Manville's borders. The ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Rutgers Athletics has selected Dyehard Fan Supply, an event and retail merchandise marketing and e-commerce company, as the official merchandising partner for the Scarlet Knights in a new multi-year agreement.Dyehard will handle game day and event merchandising for Rutgers Athletics.

The Jaffe Briefing will not publish from Thursday through Monday. A great Memorial Day to all!

OUR TAKE ON THE NEWS IN NEW JERSEY

SEASIDE HEIGHTS - Sex can be an almost-religious experience, but it seems a bit excessive to copulate under a statue of the Virgin Mary in a Catholic church's outdoor prayer garden. Yet, that's where ...

The Jaffe Briefing will not publish from Thursday through Monday. A great Memorial Day to all!

MANVILLE - If marijuana becomes legal in New Jersey, here's another town where you won't be able to buy it: Manville. The mayor and council unanimously voted to prohibit any sale of weed - recreational and medicinal - within Manville's borders. The ...

The Jaffe Briefing will not publish from Thursday through Monday. A great Memorial Day to all!

STATEWIDE - Should public school students be allowed to attend schools in other towns? That's the big, controversial question in a lawsuit filed against the state that looks to end what some consider to be the worst school segregation in the nation. The ...

IN COURT - Sounds like a cheesy thing to do, but the NJ Turnpike Authority has gone to court for years trying to stop a pizzeria chain whose logo is suspiciously similar to our beloved Garden State Parkway sign. Sure, nobody wants drivers searching for an on-ramp to end ...

MOUNTAINSIDE - Oh, where to begin describing this 46-page lawsuit against two Mountainside cops? A detective sergeant placing his testicles on co-workers' food. And throwing poop-smeared toilet tissue at them. And defecating in someone's boots. And taunting with a dildo dubbed "Big Blue" he liked to wave in cops' faces, as he chased ...

ATLANTIC CITY - Happy days are here again, as the state's once gasping gaming resort is expecting sports betting will rake in $150 million to $175 million a year in new, glorious profits - courtesy of your pals on the U.S. Supreme Court. Moreover, ecstatic Stockton University officials believe, this recharged gambling mecca will bring in a whole new ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Rutgers Athletics has selected Dyehard Fan Supply, an event and retail merchandise marketing and e-commerce company, as the official merchandising partner for the Scarlet Knights in a new multi-year agreement.Dyehard will handle game day and event merchandising for Rutgers Athletics.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Eric Zwerling got a call this week from a man was living next to a fitness center, complaining he repeatedly heard the loud thud heavy free weights and medicine balls hit the floor.

The man was recovering from having a pace maker in his chest and wondering of the impact of the noise from the gym.

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – Local cops are investigating an incident of ‘theft by deception’ involving the Plainfield Animal Hospital.

According to the incident report filed by Officer Justin Melanson and obtained by TAPinto, residents of South Plainfield took their pet rabbit to the Park Avenue animal hospital on April 4 to be euthanized due to advanced ...

OPINION

By
LARRY WHITE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW JERSEY STATE INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, AND BOB GARDNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL FEDERATION OF STATE HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS

May 1, 2018

Dear TAPInto New Brunswick:

One of the responsibilities that parents take most seriously is protecting their children from injury, whether it is buckling seat belts in a car or wearing a helmet while riding a bike. And when their kids become teenagers and want to participate in sports or other activities, parents do everything they can to keep their sons and daughters from getting ...

BASKING RIDGE – Marion Johnson, a mathematician now known as New Jersey’s own “Hidden Figure,” took center stage at Girls Scouts Heart of New Jersey’s (GSHNJ) recent third-annual Young Women of Vision Leadership Breakfast.

Johnson inspired the crowd with her story as an engineer at NASA. It began as a journey from childhood in the segregated South ...